Celebrating St. Andrew’s Day with Traditional Scotch Broth
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Scotch Broth is a traditional Scottish soup recipe, often served during Scotland’s St. Andrew’s Day feast in November. A hearty winter soup to keep you warm even on the coldest days.
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While traditional Scotch Broth recipes can take hours to cook, this recipe cooks in a fraction of the time.
Scotland.org has more Scottish recipes to help celebrate the feast.
RELATED: Celebrating St. Andrews Day with Smoked Haddock Bake
Scotch Broth Ingredients
You will find the exact ingredient measurements in the recipe card below, but here is a quick list of what you will need for this simplified Scotch Broth:
- Ground lamb
- Aromatics: butter, onions, bay leaf, and fresh rosemary
- Vegetables: carrots, turnips, and kale
- Beef broth plus water
- Cooked pearl barley
- Apple cider vinegar
St. Andrew’s Day Celebrations
St. Andrew is the Patron Saint of Scotland, celebrated annually at the Feast of St. Andrew on November 30. As one of the 12 disciples of Jesus, Andrew is believed to have died on a diagonally transversed cross, which the Romans sometimes used for executions and which, therefore, came to be called St Andrews Cross. That flag is the official flag of Scotland.
To learn more facts about St. Andrew, visit Scotland.org.
To view a Scottish Party Guide for St. Andrews, visit this link.
Who Was St Andrew?
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Traditional Scotch Broth
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground lamb
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 medium onions chopped
- 4 carrots sliced 3/4-inch thick
- 1 turnip 1-inch dice
- 1 large bunch organic kale finely chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 6 cups reduced-sodium beef broth
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups cooked pearl barley
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
Instructions
- Brown the lamb in a stockpot or Dutch Oven until no pink remains. Remove the lamb with a slotted spoon and all but 1 teaspoon of fat.
- To the Dutch Oven, add 1 tablespoon of butter, the onions, carrots, turnip, and kale; season to with salt and pepper. Cook the vegetables until softened; 5-8 minutes.
- Add the broth, water, cooked barley, bay leaf, and rosemary. Cover and simmer until the vegetables and barley are tender, about 10 minutes. Add reserved lamb and vinegar, gently simmer, uncovered, for about 5 minutes to allow flavors to blend.
- Discard bay leaf and serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Fresh, Delicious and Simple to prepare. Thank you for sharing this!
Hi Mary! I’m so happy you enjoyed the Scotch Broth! Thank you for trying it and sharing how you liked it.
Easy to make, delicious to eat. I’ve made this recipe at least 20 times now and it’s perfect every time.